Swatting | VICE News
In recent years, a small amount of hackers and gamers have been
anonymously reporting fake hostage situations, shootings, and other
violent crimes designed to send elite police units, like SWAT teams, to
unsuspecting people at their residences.
Swatting is a dangerous
and expensive prank, which is easy to pull off. Swatters are utilizing
easily accessible technology to mask or even alter the ID during calls
to 911 dispatchers. With SWAT teams and paramilitary gear becoming the
norm across small town America, these calls have predictably chaotic
results.
Despite the hyper-vigilance of America's law enforcement,
authorities still struggle to defend themselves from the unlikeliest of
threats — tech-savvy teenagers. Police militarization meets hacker
culture as VICE News investigates the dangerous crime of swatting.